Deep in a photo reading course, I’ve been introduced to a new topic, syntopical reading. This isn’t a technique for reading faster or pulling more information out of articles. Rather, it is an approach to learning more deeply about a desired topic. Coined in 1940 by philosopher Mortimer Adler, this term is simply described as reading more than one book on a certain subject.

This style of reading is considered by Adler to be one of the more advance stages of reading development. This is not to confuse the task as the only way to read written material. Integral reading, one book all the way through, should not be isolated as a poor style of comprehension, but as a different approach. He breaks reading styles into 4 levels.

• Elementary - basic reading (high school)
• Inspectional - looking for facts and pieces of interest
• Analytical - classifying and investigating reading (college)
• Snytopical - reading multiple books on the same subject (graduate work)

The benefits of syntopical reading move beyond simply acquiring a mass of information about a topic. The goal of syntopical reading is three fold. First, it allows the reader to see the connection between two works. Second, the juxtaposition of similar passages removed from their literary timeline, allows the reader to comprehend the topic at an advanced level. Lastly, the influence of one work on many, and the interpretation their of, allows the reader a broader understanding of the multiple meanings a passage may have.

One of the best things I’ve ever done for myself is read three books on sexual evolution back to back. The first one took a bit to stomp through, but by the third I was flying through it, absorbing new concepts rapidly. The varied opinions and views drastically enriched my knowledge of the subject. I view this now as a small taste of snytopical reading. Had I read the books in parallel, jumping books when citations were made, and subsidizing reading with other materials, I can only imagine the thoughts I would have on the subject. I see now a whole other world of interpretation awaits.